Behind the Brand — Radikal Neon

If you missed it, last month we showcased our first ever NZFW collection, by the name of Hotel Miami. Think, fresh, crisp, summer vibes with a pop of colour and a little neon. We turned to Radikal Neon to bring our vision to life and recently caught up with Tom, the brains behind our epic window installation.

Whats the story behind the brand?

Rad came to life as a need to decorate our own space. Isaac & I always wanted neon for the creative space we work out of, but couldn’t justify the prices for gas neon. It was just wasn’t a goer! We thought we might be stumped until I came across an entirely different medium that produced stunning results, that being LED neon. Long story short we moved to Southern China to help out a friend of ours in the Fashion industry, whilst there we did some solid research around the possibility of having some pieces made for ourselves. Soon enough word got out that we were looking at custom neon and a bunch of people wanted stuff of their own. New Zealand hadn’t yet had it’s own LED neon brand, so we thought why not? ‘Radikal Neon’ basically speaks about the energy & excitement we think the product brings and how that energy is reflected in any space. Making spaces look totally rad – so to us the name made sense.

Why signage and why neon?

I think traditionally Neon has just been so hard to attain or justify for in-home or ‘pop-up’ use, unless your budget is fairly sizable. We came up with a solution to all the shortcomings (price, fragility, complex installation) of gas and just fell further in love with LED Neon combined with what was already an emergent trend in interior design. We also absolutely love neon, it totally sets any space off and we couldn’t get enough!

Neon is clearly making a comeback, what do you think inspired this transition?

I honestly think it’s something interior designers & trendsetters alike have always wanted to put in their spaces, but it was reserved for the fully committed! With this new wave of LED the medium, it is finally a totally affordable addition to your space. Now that we don’t have to fork out thousands for a sign & that they can be ‘installed’ and removed just like a painting, neon interior design has finally hit the mainstream.

Can you talk us through the design and manufacture process?

With custom pieces, we try to make the process as simple as possible, whether the client knows exactly what they want or has absolutely no idea! We guide them through the process of selecting colours, sizes that are right for the space, fonts if required and so on.Once the design is firmed up, we produce detailed line drawings with all the relevant specs & accurate quotes.When the client is happy we push forward with our production process where each piece is handmade by skilled technicians who do a damn fine job! Once said & done we also provide optional extras like hanging methods or remote controls for each piece if required. Typically the entire process from hitting ‘Get me that quote’, to that knock on your door delivery takes 15 days tops! (Which is shockingly quick we think!)

You’ve custom made some epic window signs for us, are there any limitations in terms of custom designs?

Thanks, we’re glad you like them! You dream it, we make it. That’s our philosophy & we will endeavour to get you what you want. We love happy faces.

Whats the inspiration behind the pieces you currently have for sale?

Our current collection is totally diverse with a piece for each part of our target market. Currently there’s a lot of neon out there for the ‘Mums & Bubs’ demographic and while we also wanted to provide some pieces for that market, we also wanted to break new ground with younger trendsetters who just wanna flex their space, this is quite prevalent with the $$$ Dollar Sign & Fuego the flame pieces.

Has the brand been as well received as you hoped?

The response so far has had us run off our feet for sure. It’s been a full on 4 weeks & people are stoking on what we’re doing, particularly with customs, we love doing customs. We couldn’t be happier and we’re excited to continue pushing forward with a bunch of other projects for the that will be unveiled in the coming months!

Whats up next for Radikal Neon?

World domination…probably haha.

Hotel Miami Neon signs will be available for purchase. Please contact pr@superette.co.nz for more information.